The waiting really begins

Homer Bailey had a huge outing today — both for the team and personally. After allowing two solo homers in the second inning to Adrian Gonzalez and Yorvit Torrealba, he got uber stingy. He finished with seven innings and five hits, two runs and one walk allowed and six strikeouts.

Dusty Baker made sure Bailey knew it was a big game and the right-hander delivered.

“We talked earlier, remember, about building an ace,” Baker said. “That’s what potential aces do. They stop the bleeding and stop a losing streak.”

“It’s times like that you have to lock down,” Bailey said. “I knew with our offense that two wasn’t going to beat me. I just had to make adjustments on the fly.”

“When you have that day of rest sometimes, sometimes you feel too loose and too strong. You have to kind of back down a little bit and stay balanced a little bit more.”

So now, the magic number to clinch is one. It could get a little weird since the Cardinals host the Pirates Monday. A STL loss clinches the division for the Reds on their off day. As it looks right now, there seems to be no plans to gather at GABP to watch the game.

“Nothing,” Baker said about any plans. “Tomorrow is a rest day, an unpack day. I’ll probably watch TV. I’ll probably watch the Cardinals, watch baseball games like I always do and do some scouting. I’ll just try to relax and then watch Monday Night Football.

“Guys have stuff to do. They have family stuff. They’ve seen these guys 156 games already, probably 180 days almost with off days. You need some personal time, some family time and probably some guys will have to prepare to move out of their places because some have leases only until Oct. 1. There’s a lot to do. It’s a perfect off day tomorrow.”

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